If you are having a hard time with credit card payments, you may need to seek help. If you are no longer able to make your minimum payments on your credit cards, you will need to get help to avoid having debt in collections or receiving judgments on your debt.
Part of the problem with making credit card payments is that your payments have recently increased do to changes in policy. While the new formula for calculating minimum payments will help you pay off your debt eventually, it might place an additional strain on your budget. This might even mean that you have been using your credit cards more to make up the difference in your budget, creating a scenario where you are building up more and more debt.
One option that you might have contemplated is bankruptcy. This will ruin your credit, but will allow you to have a fresh start. It is hard to come back from bankruptcy since that will stay on your credit report for as many as ten years, barring you from applying for many future types of credits like buying a home or a car. Bankruptcy is also not for everyone as many people's situation do not warrant such a extreme act.
Another option you may have heard of is debt settlement. Most people who choose this option pay a lot of money up front to a debt settlement agency to settle with their creditors. These types of organization can do nothing more than what you can do on your own, but they will charge you a lot to do it. Debt settlement is an option for those whose debt is with collection agencies. While debt settlement does hurt your credit, having unpaid debt in collections is also bad. Whatever debt that does get forgiven is taxable, so you won't even be able to save on it as much as you might have thought.
Perhaps your situation is not as grim as to necessitate bankruptcy or debt settlement. If this is the case, you should seek credit counseling. Through credit counseling, you can become current on your accounts, lower your interest rates, and even have a positive influence on your credit report. A credit counselor can help you pay off your debt and balance your budget so that you can make your monthly credit card payments.
If you are interested in credit counseling, find a reputable credit counseling agency that can help you with your credit card payments. With this type of help, you will be able to escape debt and save money for future purchases.
